Wearhead is a village in
County Durham, in England. It is situated at the top of
Weardale
Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. Th ...
between
Cowshill
Cowshill is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated at the top of Weardale, between Lanehead and Wearhead. In the 2001 census Cowshill had a population of 156.
The Church of St Thomas (1912) is located in Cowshill, and is the paris ...
and
Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the
River Wear which runs eastwards for approx to
Sunderland. In the
2001 census Wearhead had a population of 210.
The first settlement at Wearhead may have been a farmstead, possibly a summer base for the Bishop's cattle which would
have been taken to lower ground in winter. East of the village lies a steep hillside, which has evidence of shallow shafts and
hushes
Hushing is an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploitation. Mineral veins are often hidden below ...
which were the early methods used to extract lead and iron. In County Durham there were rich deposits of lead lying within a circle of about 10 miles' radius drawn around Wearhead, hence the lead-mining industry of Weardale and Teesdale.
In 1858 the Post Office Directory listed: Beer Retailer, Grocer/Draper, Tailor/Draper, Grocer, Joiner/Postmaster, Grocer and Draper’s/Joiner.
In 1915 the Post Office Directory listed only The Bank of Liverpool.
In 1971 Barclays Bank (formerly Martins Bank) was sold and the property became a butcher’s shop, which has since closed.
Wearhead stands 1,104 feet (336m) above sea level and has some of the highest peaks in County Durham, namely Killhope Law at 2,208 feet (673m) and
Burnhope Seat
Burnhope Seat is a high moorland fell in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in northern England. It lies between the heads of the Rivers Tees, South Tyne and Wear. The summit is crossed by the boundary between County ...
at 2,452 feet (747 m).
Burnhope Reservoir is approximately from Wearhead. In the construction six farms were submerged when water rose to fill the man-made reservoir in 1937.
Railways
Wearhead was the terminus of the
Weardale Extension Railway
The Stanhope and Tyne Railway was an early British mineral railway, that ran from Stanhope in County Durham, to South Shields at the mouth of the River Tyne. The object was to convey limestone from Stanhope and coal from West Consett and elsew ...
which opened on 21 October 1895.
The line was mainly used for freight carrying
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
,
iron ore,
lead ore
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...
and
fluorspar to the industrial areas of North East England. The station was host to a
LNER LNER may refer to:
* London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947
* London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018
* Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
camping coach
Camping coaches were holiday accommodation offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland from the 1930s. The coaches were old passenger vehicles no longer suitable for use in trains, which were converted to ...
from 1935 to 1939 and possibly one for some of 1934. It closed to passenger traffic on 29 June 1953 and to goods on 2 January 1961.
Decline and revival
In 2005 the last remaining shop in the village, Co-op, closed. Shortly afterwards the Methodist Church held its last service after being in existence for over 180 years.
The former Co-op shop has re-opened as an independent village store and the former Post Office was opened as a craft shop/cafe. This has closed and been converted to a house since.
The houses of Wearhead are thought to be some of the most beautiful and original of Weardale.
There is a park and recreational field where the local teams play football.
What to Do
*
Burnhope Reservoir
* A Mineral Valleys Project walk - Wearhead (The River Starts Here)
*Killhope, the
North of England Lead Mining Museum
The North of England Lead Mining Museum, better known as Killhope, is an industrial museum near the village of Cowshill, County Durham, England. The museum stands on the site of the former Park Level Mine, which is being restored to show the w ...
*The Weardale Museum and High House Chapel at
IreshopeburnThe Weardale Museum
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See also
* List of closed railway stations in Britain
References
External links
Old photos of Wearhead 1900s to 1960s on the Durham Record Web Site
Durham Dales: Walking and Cycling Routes in Wear Valley
(PDF)
The Weardale Way
Weardale History
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Villages in County Durham
Stanhope, County Durham